Quick Guide to the Northern Territory
This is a special Travel Wheels guide which focuses on the beautiful Northern Territory where almost a third of the population have aboriginal roots. This is probably the best state to explore if you want to understand the incredibly rich culture of the old living civilisation on the planet, so get involved and see the magic of the dreamtime!
The Northern Territory is a massive state, and it is about the size of Italy, Spain and France combined, so it takes time to explore this amazing place! If you have less than four weeks, then we would recommend using the Travel Wheels Fly Drive Deals and combining a twin centre break so that you can enjoy the place without spending days and days driving on a short trip to this area.
| The state is roughly divided into two sections by the type of landscape and of course by the climate. The northern part of the state is known as the "TOP END" and has the characteristics of a tropical region with many national parks and some of the best Aboriginal Rock Art in the whole of Australia. The bottom half or the "RED CENTRE" is dominated by Uluru or Ayres Rock and the magical feeling of being literally in the middle of nowhere! |
CAPITAL
Darwin which is known as a tropical frontier town in the "TOP END" has a population of approximately 70,000 people, and boy is it hot and humid! It is actually closer to Singapore than Canberra and everything is done at a very slow pace due to the heat!
CLIMATE
If you like it hot and humid, then you have come to the right place! Darwin's temperature is consistently around the 30-33 degree mark all year around! Remember it also has a dry and a wet season, so make you bring an umbrella if you are planning on visiting in the wet season!
| AVERAGE TEMP | SPRING | SUMMER | AUTUMN | WINTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | |
| DARWIN | ||||||||||||
| Max | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 32 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 31 |
| Min | 23 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 21 |
Below is a simple list of some of the must see places not to miss on your Northern Territories adventure.
- Explore the world heritage listed Kakadu national park
- See the sunrise or sunset at Uluru or Ayres Rock
- Visit the amazing Kings' Canyon for a red centre adventure!
- Have an amazing 4wd tour of the outback - this is great fun!
- Visit the many Aboriginal communities and explore this amazingly rich culture of the oldest living civilisation on the planet!
- Explore Katherine gorge in Nitmiluk national park - well worth spending a few days in a canoe seeing the amazing views of a spectacular gorge
- Check out the crocodiles on the Adelaide rive cruise in Darwin
- Visit Darwin - a great place to relax and chill out in the heat!
- Explore the West Macdonnell Ranges - a great place to see wildlife
- Visit the Royal Flying Doctors Service
- View Aboriginal rock art in the Litchfield National Park
- If you have the money - hot air ballooning over the outback
